Last year I didn't think I would be able to make it to 75 books. It was a very pleasant surprise when I made it to 85! So this year I am hoping to surpass my target even further.







January Reading

1. Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman 400 pages
2. Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro 576 pages
3. Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty 480 pages
4. Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey C. Ward 448 pages
5. Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs 416 pages

February Reading

6. Turning Angel by Greg Iles pgs 672
7. Sam's Creed by Sarah McCarthy pgs 432
8. Tucker's Claim by Sarah McCarthy pgs 366
9. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pgs 256
10. Entombed by Linda Fairstein pgs 528

March Reading

11. Lover Avenged by J.R Ward pgs 544
12. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers pgs 480
13. Footprints of God by Greg Iles pgs 576*
14. All my sons by Arthur Miller pgs 102*

Next to be consumed:
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog
Salome by Ocar Wild

Message modifié par son auteur, Mar 15, 2010, 9:28am.

January Reviews

Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman
5 of 5 Stars
A little magic, some time travel and a fling with a scottish warrior. I couldn't ask for more in a romance novel. Needless to say I loved Charming the Highlander. Grace is returning home to Maine after losing her sister in a car accident. Greylen and Grace are thrown together when the plane they are traveling on crashes in the mountains.

Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro
3 0f 5 stars
I won't say I didn't like The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud. But I didn't love it either. It was just okay.

The Brotherhood the Holy Shroud follows the history of the Shroud of Turin. The story moves back and forth through time periods giving you pieces of the puzzle at a time. It was the medival story line of the shroud that held the majority of my attention, as I have a fondness of period fiction involving relics or historical figures. There wasn't much of any thriller or suspense element. I never found myself on the edge of my seat or tearing through the pages to find the outcome. The modern day art crimes division investigating the attempted thieft of the shroud of mediocre at best. Missing completely obivious lines of reasoning until their was no other possible reasoning left. However their were some characters that I enjoyed following. Wouldn't read it again or really recommend the book but still enjoyed it.

Message modifié par son auteur, Jan 8, 2010, 12:00pm.

Welcome! Nice start to the year.

Welcome to the group!

Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty
5 of 5 Stars

This book it a little harder to write a review on then others. We meet Desi as Caine and the Hell's Eight Rangers are tracking her kidnappers across the Texas plains. Desi is a hell cat in her defiance of her captures. It is for that reason that she catches the eye of Caine. The other women kidnapped will have nothing to do with her, which adds to Caine's sense of protect over Desi. As her past comes out Desi has been treated horribly in the hands of men. This is were some of the book annoyed me slightly. Caine is your typically alpha dominate male character. But at times to me he almost came off as cold. He could have been more understanding. But of course they work it out. Over all I loved the book. It made you cry, was hot and steamy and all the characters of Hell's Eight Ranch are equally interesting. I will be reading the next books. Can't wait to see what she develops with Tracker and his brother.

Message modifié par son auteur, Jan 13, 2010, 9:27pm.

Not familiar with Caine's Reckoning, but from your review it sounds similar to Lora Leigh's series. Have you read any of them? She's a very prolific writer, lots of different series--I know she has one about a group of shifters, one about a group of mercenaries...I think a recent series started about dragons? Not sure. Anyway, you might enjoy her.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson by Geoffrey C. Ward
5 of 5 Stars

Normally I wouldn't have much interest in the biography of a boxer. But for the last 6 years I have been dating one, so eventually it was going to happen. Wow. Jack Johnson led an extraordinary life. In a time when whites ran everything and each race stayed on their side of the color line, Jack Johnson lived as if their were no races. He worked up from poverty to become the first African American Heavy Weight Champion. He was known for his fast cars (even patented a wrench for working on them), expensive clothes, and lots of white women. When black men could be lynched for just the rumor of having a relationship with a white woman, Jack Johnson traveled around with multiple white prostitutes. He was flamboyant in his excess. The whites were so uncomfortable with his "Unforgivable Blackness" they went looking for the Great White Hope to defeat Jack Johnson. Would highly recommend this little tidbit American History.

Message modifié par son auteur, Jan 14, 2010, 6:53am.

#7: I will definitely be looking for that one. Thanks for the recommendation!

Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
5 of 5 stars

I am hooked on the Temperence Brennan Series. Sadly this was the last book I had left (you hear that Kathy Reichs, publish, publish, publish). I had mistakenly read the series out of order. I would recommend reading them chronologically, so the relationships that develops during the series flows.
In Bones to Ashes we get to go back as learn about Tempe's childhood. Growing up with her grandmother and staying on Paulie’s Island. We also meet her childhood best friend Evangeline who just disappeared one summer and never came back. Tempe gets pulled back into those childhood memories when the skeleton of a teenage girl comes into her hands that she believes could be Evangeline. Her past becomes more intertwined as Detective Ryan asks for her assistance on files of some missing girls tied to Acadia where her childhood friend was from.

Message modifié par son auteur, Jan 26, 2010, 4:55pm.

I am also a fan of the Temperance Brennan series, although I have not read the last several. I really need to begin them again!

I have only read one and I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure why I never picked up another one.

How could you guys walk away from Detective Andrew Ryan?

I snuck the next one in the series onto the top of my wish list....shhhh don't let the other books know they got bumped down.

I have been watching Bones but have never read any of the Kathy Reichs books. I put Bones to Ashes on my BookMooch wishlist, though. If you watch the TV show, how do you think the books compare?

I love the quote on your profile page! Sums it up for me!

Carlym-

The TV series and the book series of Bones are completely different. Temperence in the novels is a women in her 40's seperated from her husband with a daughter in college. Also there is no Booth. However, Tempe in the Novels is a great character. She actually goes back and forth from Montreal and North Carolina with dual positions as a medical examiner and a professor. And you have Detective Andrew Ryan. In my opinion a very good substitute for Booth. I actually loved the TV series and then started reading the novels. So as long as you understand they are completely different characters, I think you will enjoy them.

Thanks ronincats-

A couple years ago I remodeled my home. I decided to make a reading room, with nice overstuffed lounge, chairs and nice bright soothing colors. I had one wall I was thinking about putting art work on. Instead I collected all my favortie quotes, and motivational lines and painted them on the wall in different styles of fonts. I love how it turned out, it has become by favorite room.

Turning Angel by Greg Iles
4 of 5 Stars

Turning Angel is the second book in the Penn Cage series. Penn Cage is a retired prosecutor who moved back home to Natchez, Mississippi were he writes his best seller novels. In Turning Angel, Penn finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Kate Townsend, a beautiful, and intellegent teenager is found murdered and raped floating the the Natchez River. Drew Elliot, Penn's best friend and the one of the town's well respected physicians confessed to Penn that he has been having an affair with Kate. As soon as word of this gets out to Drew is charged with Kate's murder. Penn works with his babysitter Mia, to follow Kate's life, through rave's, drug dealers, and the sexually relationships of the teenage girls in Natchez. Penn must race to find out what happened to Kate to save Drew from being convicted and sentenced to death. I loved the Quiet Game, book one in the Penn Cage Series, which deals with soutern secrets and racism of the past. However, I believe the best Greg Iles novel I have read was Blood Memory.

#18: You liked that one a lot better than I did. I enjoyed the first book in the series a lot, but was disappointed in that one. I am planning on reading more of the series though.

Sam's Creed by Sarah McCarthy
5 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the Hell's Eight Series. 1858 Texas Ranger Sam MacGregor comes across Isabella at the burnt out wreckage of a wagon train. Isabella is running to San Antonio to avoid marriage to Tejala, the crazed leader of a band of gunslingers. When Sam finds Bella under the burnt out wagon she is not what he expected. Instead of cowerling in fear, she is a firey hispanic beauty that immediately begins by ordering him about. Of course the novel proceeds as Sam sets to make Isabella's home safe for her once again and Bella sets to removing the hard shell around Sam's heart. The normal tone for a romance novel. What is not typical is some of the romance scenes in this book. Sam is sexy as all hell and very patient with Bella as she tries to challenge authority. Bella soon discovers that submitting to Sam is definately in her nature. I will have to agree with another review written, that there is one particular sex scene that is hard to work out. I was raised around horses and I can not picture how you would give a blow job while sitting behind someone on horse back. Still would highly recommend the book. Very steamy.

Message modifié par son auteur, Fév 11, 2010, 3:22pm.

#20: Looking forward to the review of that one! 5 stars, wow!

Sorry alcottacre I couldn't post a review yet I was already diving into the next book in the series.

Tucker's Claim by Sarah McCarthy
4 of 5 stars

Book 3 in the Hell's Eight series. Tucker has never had a long list of dreams, being half Indian he is not accepted by either side. So thoughts of a wife and family have been things Tucker never let himself imagine. Until he meets Sally Mae, a widowed Quaker, who believes in seeing all men equally. Can Tucker give up his violent ways and start a life with Sally Mae? Being that the Hell's Eight Series is an erotic romance, there is once again a lot of sex. However some sex scenes don't fit into what maybe my preconceived notions about the west in the 1800's. Also Sally Mae dialect being a Quaker was quite annoying to me. Everything is thee... For me that threw the book off just enough from making it a five star read. I love all the characters of Hell's Eight and can't wait to read the next book in the series (once it's published).

Ah, I had not realized that the books were erotica. In that case, I think they will be a tad too steamy for me. I appreciate the info though!

When I had purchased the books I didn't know they were on the border of the erotic novels. They were shelved with the rest of the romance novels. So definatley some eye opening scenes in this series, but actual plot and character development also.

Oh, that just figures--I get all excited about a new author and series, and my library has not ONE of the books in the Hell's Eight series. Poo. I was looking forward to having something new to add to the 'smut' tag pile in my library...

Willowsmom- I don't know what state you live in, but here in Michigan, there is a library net. So you can request books from other libraries in the state to be sent to yours. Did you ask the librarian if thy can request it from another library?

Yeah...we have ILL here, but *SIGH* I've currently got 10 ILLs in the wings, and the hubs has banned me from getting any more for a few weeks at least. He brings home the bacon, so I guess I'll just have to read a few of the...other...50 books I have piled around the house in the meantime. :)

I know... I always have more books waiting to be read then I really would want to admit. I thought I was doing good this year, I cleared 8 books from my TBR pile so far and woe is me I just purchased 7 new ones today. Such problems I have! :)

Think positive: it's not problem, it's a CHALLENGE! :)

Entombed by Linda Fairstein
5 of 5 stars

It is safe to say that Linda Fairstein is one of my favorite writers for mysteries. Entombed was no disappointment. Alex Cooper stumbles on a case while attending a society function held in Edgar Allen Poe's old house in the Bronx. The construction crew come across a body of a women entombed in the basement of the home. The terrifying thought is that it appears that she was entombed alive. So Alex and Mike are working on the case following clues that seem to parallel with Poe himself. Including, the Raven Society, a secret society dedicated to Poe. At the same time, the silk stocking serial killer once again becomes active. I am no great fan of Edgar Allen Poe, but have read a handful of his stories and poems. I really enjoyed the historical information about the man that was woven into the mystery it's self. In fact I may now have to go in search of a biography of Edgar Allen Poe. 5 out of 5 stars, any book that inspires you to want to read further into a subject definitely deserves it.

#31: I like Linda Fairstein's books too. Glad to see another fan!

Lover Avenged by J.R. Ward
5 of 5 Stars

Book 7 in the Black Dagger Brotherhood tells the story of Rehvenge. I have been waiting to learn more about Rehvenge. His character has always seemed a little out of place in the brotherhood. As a sympath he was very manipulative, secretive, and on the verge of being out of control. However, as Bella's brother, I was expecting him to have a larger role in the brotherhood. As with all of JR Wards Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Rehvenge is a larger then life, tattooed tough guy with a broken heart. Ehlena has been struggling ever since her father became ill. She meets Rhev at Havers clinic being one of the only nurses that can stand to be in presence. Although Rehvenge knows he has no right to court a lady of worth like Ehlena, he is unable to stop himself.

Message modifié par son auteur, Mar 8, 2010, 4:02pm.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
5 of 5 stars

Sarah knows from the start that she was never suppost to be born. Her own father had even said so. By the time she is eight, Sarah has been sold into prostitution. Duke teaches his little Angel all the cruelities that can imagined. When Angel makes her way the west she has no dreams left, no hope, she has turned herself into stone. Until Michael Hosea, drags her out of her life and begins to nurse her back into health. Can Angel put aside everything she has endured in her life? Can she learn to take the Lord into her heart? This book will reduce you to tears more times then not. But is shows the profound power there is in God's redeeming love.

#34: My daughter Catey really likes Francine Rivers books. I will have to see if she has read that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Jennifer.

I read Redeeming Love ages ago and loved it. In fact, my cousin actually has one of the OLD versions, from before Rivers got picked up by a Christian publisher... apparently it's very graphic, compared to the one that's out there now. And for Christian fiction, the version that's currently published is *still* pretty hot, compared to other romances in the CBA market...!

Definitely one to read with the tissue box at your side, though!